Cincinnati Reds, manager David Bell, agree on 3-year extension through 2026 season

LOS ANGELES — The Cincinnati Reds and field manager David Bell have agreed to a 3-year contract extension through the 2026 season, the team announced Friday night.

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Bell, 50, was signed to a 3-year contract in October 2018 through the 2021 season, with a club option for 2022, to become the 63rd field manager in club history and the 53rd since 1900.

The team on Sept. 22, 2021, announced a 2-year contract extension through 2023.

The Reds went 203-283 (.418) in the three seasons prior to Bell’s hiring and 307-343 (.472) with a 2020 Postseason appearance in five seasons since then.

This year, the Reds are trying to become the first team in Major League history to win a division championship after losing at least 100 games the season before. At 56-48, Cincinnati trails the first-place Milwaukee Brewers by 1.5 games in the NL Central but right now is in a position to advance to the Postseason as one of three Wild Card teams.

In 2020 and 2021, the Reds produced winning records in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2012-2013. Bell’s 2020 Reds went 31-29 during a season abbreviated by the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic and earned their first Postseason berth since 2013. He received a pair of third-place votes and finished ninth in the 2020 National League Manager of the Year Award voting of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

The announcement is coming from Los Angeles as the Reds open a series tonight against the Dodgers.

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